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| How about some respect? |
I have been reading and discussing the current state of affairs in reference to the UFT, Janus and rank and file dissatisfaction. The UFT is so out of touch that they really haven't come to terms with the fact that there is large contingent of disaffected teachers. I'm not sure if they are aware of us or have just ignored us because they could. The thing with Janus is it should change their perspective for the better. I say their and not our, because even though you and I have paid dues for our entire careers, we are not part of the Union. The UFT cultivated an apathetic rank and file. It's done our thinking for us and we've allowed it. I believe they will continue to do so unless we all start making demands and are prepared to leave.
Will people leave? Yes, I think many will and are not openly discussing it. Two years ago I knew that Trump would be president and that many NYC teachers would quietly be voting for him. I wrote about it and said we should be putting our weight behind Bernie, otherwise Trump would win. It's the same dynamic. People will leave in trickles and then (if nothing changes) droves ; new teachers that are unprotected and unaware of their rights; ATRs that don't have adequate representation in the form of a chapter and have been discriminated against with different rules, have been frozen in limbo by the farcical Open Market and diabolical Fair Student Funding scheme.; veteran teachers that are targeted because of their higher salaries and institutional memory. What can we do to stop the exodus? First the UFT has to openly acknowledge the disaffected. Communicate with us through meetings and address our concerns. If they refuse and continue down the road of appeasement and discrimination, there will be an eventual mass exodus and the question will become what can we do to protect ourselves? I certainly don't want to see it come to that. We should all do something to see it doesn't. Join a caucus, sign a petition https://www.thepetitionsite.com/305/080/798/atrs-want-our-own-chapter/ , make a phone call or visit a district office with your concerns, and consider speaking out for yourself and your career.
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Stories herein containing unnamed or invented characters are works of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.